In Berkeley: Dogs versus bikes in newt road battle

New signs (right) demanding walkers to keep dogs on leash on South Park Drive in Tilden Park have prompted an outcry by many locals. Photo: Tracey Taylor

BERKELEYSIDE: Dog walkers who enjoy taking their four-legged friends off leash on South Park Drive in Tilden when it is closed to vehicular traffic every year for five months to protect the resident newts are not happy.

They say recently erected signs that instruct them to keep their dogs on leash contradict a law drafted by the park district 13 years ago. They want the signs taken down and argue that the cyclists who use the stretch of road when it is free of cars constitute a bigger threat to the newts the road’s closure is intended to protect than dogs, whether on- or off-leash.

“There is no legal support for their action. They have acted in excess of their jurisdiction,” said attorney Rena Rickles speaking about the East Bay Regional Park District’s decision to put up the signs in November. Rickles is working pro bono for a group of disgruntled dog walkers more than 50 of whom took their concerns to an EBRPD board meeting on Thursday Dec. 19.

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